Skidding Rangers make Chris Kreider healthy scratch vs. Devils

NEWARK, N.J. -- New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider was a healthy scratch Monday against the New Jersey Devils for the first time this season.

The Rangers lost their fourth straight home game 3-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday, then fell 5-0 to the Devils in Newark on Monday.

New York has been in a freefall since winning at Vancouver on Nov. 19. New York has lost 13 of their last 17 games as Kreider and longtime linemate Mika Zibanejad have particularly struggled.

Forward Jonny Brodzinski was added to the lineup against New Jersey in Kreider's place.

"It was just a lineup decision. We just need more," Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said regarding the scratching of his team's most-senior player. "Any time you talk to a player about not being in the lineup, it's never an easy conversation. At the end of the day, we're not playing a brand that we need to play in order to be successful."

The 33-year-old Kreider has 11 goals and one assist in 30 games this season. The left wing missed three games with an upper-body injury in late November.

Kreider scored a career-best 52 goals in 2021-22 and has been a steady performer for the Rangers since his debut during the 2012 playoffs. He scored 39 goals with 75 points last season. Kreider was a first-round draft pick by New York in 2009 (19th overall) and has played 845 career games plus 123 more in the playoffs.

Kreider is third all-time on the franchise list with 315 goals behind Rod Gilbert (406) and Jean Ratelle (336). Kreider also has 114 career power-play goals, second-most in team history.

He has two more seasons (beyond the current one) on his seven-year, $45.5 million contract. The deal is set to expire after the 2026-27 season.br/]